What Pro Heelers Prefer And How To Get Your Horse To Drag It The Right Way

Here’s a glimpse of what pro heelers prefer and how to get your horse to drag it the right way.

- Julie Mankin

Ever ridden a heel horse that does virtually everything for you? That can literally make you catch two feet?

One of the best in the world at it was Dunny Bar Five Koys, owned by two different world champs. Dunny traded Horse of the Year awards back and forth with Iceman throughout the early 1990s. He never took your throw away because he kept moving his front feet in his stop.

Former world champion heeler Steve Northcott puts it in simple terms: “If a horse is dropping its rear end but also giving you two steps, it’s a lot easier to place your loop down there.”

The veteran heeler, who owns Northcott Trucking with his wife, Celeste, recently moved to Huckabee, Texas, and plans to begin offering private roping lessons this fall. He has a case-in-point about Dunny. Northcott said that a few decades ago, Roy Cooper could easily have won the Timed Event Championship of the World a handful of times – except for his annual heeling struggles. One year, Cooper borrowed Dunny. Riding that horse in Guthrie, Cooper broke the fast-time record in the heeling.

Of course, Dunny also helped Allen Bach come tight on a gold buckle. Bach calls the dun horse the best he’s ever ridden—and that’s from a roster that includes million-dollar sticks Jackyl and Switchblade.

Dunny is not the only equine G.O.A.T. that got that way because of his speed and stopping style. Fast-throw artist Dakota Kirchenschlager, 28, has studied the mechanics of the stop while transitioning from three-time NFR heeler to full-time rope-horse trainer. His two favorite stoppers over the years? Brady Minor’s Rey and Randon Adams’ Diesel.